A/N: My thanks to mingsmommy for the beta. Time for a little reminiscing :) Enjoy!
Chapter 37
After Sara enjoyed her bath, breakfast was consumed and Grissom had packed most of his required items for their departure, the couple tended to the horses.
Grissom decided to give Hodges the day off and sent his young helper home, with pay, once he arrived. For one, it would probably be the last opportunity he had for a while to get any time off and two, it would make for a much more tranquil and uninterrupted day.
Once the horses had been exercised and fed, the couple decided to take a little time out and arm in arm they strolled about the grounds enjoying the peace and quiet. Seeing the great oak tree close to the stable Sara smiled and tugged her lover towards it.
"Let's sit under here for a while," she suggested as they approached the tree. "It's nice and shaded and I'm getting a little hot."
Nodding his agreement, Grissom allowed her to pull him down onto the grass and they sat next to each other leaning against the large trunk.
"Ah," she sighed contently. "Much better, don't you think?"
"Very much," he agreed, wiping his brow on his sleeve.
It was muggy and humid, much more than the previous days and the cool spot under the tree was very welcome.
"So…" she began, taking his hand and stroking it, "…you can tell me your little story now while we relax for a while." She turned to look at him and offered him the sweet but I am oh so curious, Sara Sidle, smile.
"Story?" he asked faking innocence, holding in his grin, knowing exactly what she was alluding to.
Sniggering she slipped her free hand into his lap and ran her hand over just the right spot, "Your scar," she breathed into him as she tipped her head forwards to gently sweep her lips over his neck.
"Oohhhh," he groaned on a whisper and she chuckled into him. "Alright, I can do that. Are you comfortable?"
Shifting a little, she placed her head on his shoulder. "I am now."
Smiling and enjoying the feeling of her snuggling up to him, he began his story.
"The incident happened about two years ago. I always liked to ride but I also enjoy walking, especially here. With the beautiful forest surrounding my land I would, on many occasions, enjoy a little alone time by just taking a walk. It was a good way to get away from the chaos of everyday life or begin a new day.
Anyway, the forest was then and still is now, home to numerous wild animals, including horses. At the time there was rumor about town that rustlers were pilfering in the forest, capturing the horses and selling them. Although no one had yet managed to prove this fact or even tried to, many locals who also enjoyed spending time in the woodland had noticed the number of horses seemed to be depleting.
This particular day put fact to the rumor at least for me…"
It was very early one Sunday morning, barely even light. I was, as I normally am, an early riser and I decided to take a walk. I had gotten to know the forest very well over the years and knew several trails I could walk without getting lost, so, I followed the longest because it's the most beautiful.
After about twenty minutes I'd ventured pretty deep into the woodland when suddenly, I heard something. I knew what it was immediately, I was sure of it, a sound no other than the cry of a horse in distress. As I walked closer towards the area where the plea was coming from, my suspicions were confirmed.
When I saw what was happening it sickened me. Four men had managed to get one of the wild horses onto the ground and were attempting to bind its legs together. Quickly surveying the area I saw a large, covered wagon with two pulling horses. I presumed this would be to transport the animals they caught. Two other horses stood beside it, obviously rides for the two thugs who would not ride on the wagon.
My eyes caught glimpse of a rifle propped up against the wagons rear wheel and I slowly narrowed the distance between it and myself. I don't know why, maybe I was working on instinct or the pure fact I could not let them take this defenseless creature like this, so I went for the gun.
The men were so occupied trying to restrain the horse and cursing amongst themselves that thankfully, they didn't hear me approaching. I picked up the rifle, aimed it at them and cocked it…
"I suggest you step away from the horse gentlemen."
The four men quickly stood and turned to face me. I took in their features and they didn't look very happy to see me. I didn't recognize any of them though. I knew a lot of people in town but these particular faces were new to me.
The eldest looking man took a step towards me, the ring leader I presumed.
"What business is it of yours?" he growled at me taking another step.
I tensed my finger on the trigger, ready for anything. "I suggest you don't take another step."
He stopped and glared at me, his eyes piercing through mine but by no means was I about to back off until the animal was free.
"I don't want any trouble," I informed them. "Just let the horse go and I'll be on my way."
Slapping his hands to his hips he laughed. He actually laughed at me, "As simple as that huh?"
"Yes."
"I don't think so." He smirked. "I don't think you got it in you to use that gun."
His response sent a chill down my spine and I had the feeling they wouldn't back off as easily as I'd hoped but ultimately, I was the one with the gun and if I had to use it to defend myself, I would.
The three other men took several steps forward now as if advancing on me. I didn't even hesitate, adjusted my aim and fired. The bullet struck the dirt just a few feet in front of the group and they jumped back looking rather stunned.
"If you think I am joking, gentlemen, then take a few more steps forward." I try to keep my voice composed although I can almost hear my heart pounding out of my chest.
"Alright, alright!" One of them shouts disgruntled as he holds up his hands.
"Untie the horse," I demand.
After several obscenities are grumbled the leader turns to his group and nods. He never takes his eyes from me after that as his men do as he asked. "You are going to regret this," he threatens.
"I'm sure," I mock while internally hoping he isn't right.
I watch as one man takes a knife from his pocket and cuts the binds from the horse's legs. The animal kicked wildly as they all scuttle out of its way but it only takes him a few seconds to get to his feet. As soon as he's up he runs into the trees and out of view.
"Good," I say as I ensure the animal is well out of sight before allowing them to leave. "Now I suggest you be on your way and I wouldn't advise you come back anytime soon. I will be informing the sheriff of what's happened here today."
"Yeah, like he's really going to care," one of them mumbles.
He was more than likely right. Law enforcement within the town wouldn't put poaching these free animals at the top of their priority list; in fact, they probably wouldn't even care but there wasn't much more I could do or say.
"Maybe," I continue, still keeping the rifle aimed at the group, "but that's for you to find out if you try again."
The head man sniggers and waves an arm. "Come on boys, let's go."
Doing as told the men disperse, two board the wagon as the other takes a horse. But the leader moves closer towards me and I feel myself tensing again.
"You better watch your back, mister," he threatens. "If we meet again, I'll make sure you pay what you owe for our loss."
I offer him a confident smile. "I'm sure," I reply. At this point I don't actually feel too threatened. I had never seen these men before so what were the odds of me seeing them again? "Time to go," I add, nodding towards his group of scoundrels.
"I want my rifle back," he says holding out his hand.
He wants his rifle back? He has the impertinence to ask for his weapon and he thinks I'm just going to hand it over? I want to laugh but hold it back. I give him a simple response. "I'll leave it at the sheriff's office; you can pick it up there."
Now he spits at me before cursing. He's too far away to actually hit me and I think that irritates him even more. He swears again and stomps away, pulling himself onto the last horse.
"Be seeing you around," he growls before kicking his ride and speeding away. His band quickly follows and they soon vanish. I wait for a good long while before moving, just in case they decided to come back but they didn't.
Sighing heavily, I eventually lowered the rifle and decided I'd had enough walking and excitement for one day. It was time to return home and a little faster than usual. I just didn't feel too comfortable about still being out in the open at that particular point in time.
So, I flung the rifle over my shoulder, turned and headed back the way I came. I'd only been walking for a minute or two when I heard something approaching me from behind. Turning quickly I grabbed the rifle again and prepared myself but what came at me was something I wasn't expecting.
Slowly and cautiously the horse I had just rescued trotted through the trees and towards me. He was magnificent to look at. Well built, strong legs and remarkably clean and tidy for a wild horse. I hadn't had much opportunity to look at him during the confrontation but now I admired the fine looking animal.
I wasn't entirely sure whether he would come any closer, he was more than likely still spooked from his ordeal and I was stunned he had followed me at all but, I held out my hand and waited.
Surprisingly, after just a few short seconds of looking me over, he stepped closer and then closer still until his nostrils flared and he sniffed at my hand.
"That's it," I whispered as he continued to inspect me, tickling my skin as he moved from my hand to my arm. "I won't hurt you."
He must have believed me because shortly afterwards, he stepped backwards and offered me a cheerful neigh and an enthusiastic nod of his head. I stepped forward and moved my hand to his back where he allowed me to stroke him. It felt nice but still lingering in the back of my mind was the urgency to get home and out of the forest, so I pointed back towards the trees and urged the horse on his way. He just stared at me before snaking his tongue out to lick my hand. I chuckled at the gesture. The animal was most certainly grateful for my assistance and such a show of affection from an untrained creature made me feel good.
"I have to go, boy, and so must you," I said. "Enjoy your freedom."
Giving him another healthy pat on the back I turned and walked away. It wasn't until I cleared the forest back onto my own land and had almost reached the house when I realized he had followed me all the way home. I turned around upon hearing a follower and there he stood, looking right at me. I swear, by the look in his eyes, if he was a dog, he would have been wagging his tail.
Slipping my hands to my hips I carefully studied him and then shrugged my shoulders. "What are you doing?" I asked in disbelief as he moved closer. He simply bobbed his head and lightly stomped his back foot to the ground before he walked right by me and headed for the stable.
I followed him, feeling pretty puzzled by this point but when I stepped into the stable, he had already made himself at home in one of the empty stalls and was drinking happily from the water trough in the corner
Sniggering to myself I folded my arms and waited until he had drunk whatever he required. He then turned to look at me again.
"Comfortable?" I asked with a huge smile on my face.
He nodded his head and I laughed even harder.
Something inside me told me he didn't want to leave and I wasn't going to force him out but I wasn't about to force him to stay either. It was his decision. I had things to do; report the incident to the sheriff as well as my duties around the estate, so I left him in the stable with the door open in case he decided to return to his natural habitat. I even half expected him to be gone when I returned in the early evening or maybe even be pottering about but he hadn't moved from the stall. He must have heard me coming because he poked his head around the door and I was certain he smiled, in a weird, horse like kind of way. I fed him when I fed the other horses and left him in the stables overnight, again leaving his stall door open.
When I awoke the following morning he was standing outside of the house, nuzzling on the grass. I knew, from that moment that I had a new addition to my family and no matter where I went around the place from that point on, the horse would follow me.
I gave him several days to get comfortable before I decided to try and ride him and what an amazing ride he was, strong, confident and incredibly fast. It took me a while to get used to his temperaments; after all he was wild and by no means used to being ridden by a human, but I was patient with him as he was with me and eventually we had our own little understanding. Due to his personality and fieriness I decided to call him Dante and that's the story of how he entered my life."
Grissom stopped and inhaled a contented breath.
Tilting her head upwards to look at him Sara smiled and shuffled a little. "That's quite a fascinating story," she commented. "And it's nice to know how you acquired Dante but…" She frowned a little. "…weren't you supposed to be telling me how you got the scar?"
"Yes, my dear," he responded with a grin. "I was getting to that. I felt it necessary to tell you about Dante because he is the reason I got the scar, well, in a way."
"Oh, I see." She snuggled back into him. "Then please continue. I am eager to hear the rest."
Smiling softy and stroking her hair, he did just that and carried on with his tale…
"It was a week or so after my confrontation with the men in the forest. There was a market in town and Taylor had asked me accompany him there and help him purchase some new horses. He seemed to think I had a better eye for studs. Anyway, when we got there we had a look around. There were a lot of people there, all out to find the perfect buy and we began taking a closer look at a few horses that had caught my eye. There was about eight of them in total, all in the same holding area and owned by the same seller.
We had been there for about twenty minutes, checking out each horse in turn and when I was taking a look at the final one, I happened to glance around. The crowd of people around us had grown tremendously since we had arrived but my eyes fell upon one particular man at the same instant he turned to look at me from across the way. It was the ringleader from the forest and I felt my pupils dilating and it felt like my heart stopped as he glared at me. I never expected to see him again let alone here, where you actually bought horses and didn't steal them.
Suddenly I felt someone tapping my shoulder and I averted my gaze back to Taylor for a second.
"Is there anyone in?" he asked with a snort. "You seem lost in your own little world there, Gil."
"Oh…" I stutter, "…sorry I…" I turned my head back to the spot where I saw the rustler but he was no longer there. Frantically my eyes scanned around but he was nowhere to be seen. I thought for a second I might have even imagined it.
"Gil, are you alright?" I heard my friend ask and after another quick look around I nodded. "Yes, sorry," I apologized. "Just thought I saw someone I knew but I must have been mistaken."
"A friend?" he asked.
"Not exactly," I mumbled, "Never mind." I shook my head and returned my full attention to the task at hand.
"So, shall we take these two?" Taylor pointed to the two horses next to us and I nodded.
"They look pretty good," I replied taking another close look. "About the best of the lot," I added.
"Excellent." Clapping his hands together Taylor went off to talk to the seller about purchase. I followed a few seconds later but couldn't help another look around. I saw nothing and had no other sightings of the horse thief at all before we left to take the horses back to Taylor's place. If my mind wasn't playing tricks on me and I had seen him, I presumed he had departed quickly after seeing me wanting to avoid an incident or accusation.
When Taylor was satisfied his new acquisitions were settled he invited me to the saloon for a drink as the early evening drew in. Trying to push the unnerving sighting from my mind I agreed and decided to try and relax with my friend. It was a pleasant evening and we stayed at the saloon pretty much all evening. It was nice because I didn't often get a chance to unwind; work was always top priority to me, so, for once, I tried to enjoy myself…
A/N: Thank you for all the reviews and comments; they are all well and truly appreciated, please keep them coming. So can we guess how Grissom got his scar yet? :)